We would like to pay tribute to the legendary Birmingham City goalkeeper Gil Merrick who died yesterday (5th February 2010) at the age of 88. Born in 1922 and brought up in Sparkbrook, Merrick went to school at Fenton Road in Acocks Green and was spotted by Blues whilst playing for Solihull Town.
He signed for Birmingham City in 1939 aged 17 and during the next 21 years he made 551 league appearances for the Blues, which included playing in the 1956 3-1 FA Cup final defeat to Manchester City. In 1951 he became a school master at Greenmore College but continued playing for Blues and on his retirement from playing in 1960 he became the Birmingham City manager, winning the League Cup under his management in 1963.
At 6ft 2in Gil was known as a gentle giant and with hands the size of plates he was considered to have the safest pair of goal keeping hands in football. Between 1951 and 1954 he won 23 England caps, three of which were earned during the 1954 Wolrd Cup finals playing alongside other England legends such as Stanley Matthews, Alf Ramsay and Billy Wright. .
In 1964 Gil was sacked by the club in acrimonious circumstances and became a personnel manager for S & U Credit Union. In 2000 he returned to the club amongst massive adulation from the fans and in 2009 the ground's Railway End was renamed The Gil Merrick Stand in his honour.
Gil Merrick was awarded a Broad Street Star in 2009 after fans voted him the club's greatest ever player.
Editor: I have heard several stories from Blues fans which testify to the very approachable and down-to-earth character of Gil Merrick in his later years. Someone telling me once how they approached him in the restaurant of a supermarket which I think could have been in Acocks Green and Gil invited this complete stranger to sit down and have a cup of tea and a chat about the Blues with him. Now that's a role model!
God bless Gil Merrick - a great and true Brummie.
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